NORTHRIDGE -- More than 600 California State University, Northridge, faculty members and other people gathered on Wednesday evening for a first look at a unique exhibit of Chinese antiquities from the collection of entrepreneur Roland Tseng.

The exhibit of more than 100 items spans more than 6,000 years of Chinese history. Tseng, 48, who grew up in the San Fernando Valley, pledged in September 2003 to donate $38 million worth of the antiquities to CSUN over a period of four years; to date, more than $24 million in gifts has been donated.

"The whole idea is, if you give it to a museum, only museums can study it," said Tseng, a corporate founder and investor, who was ranked as the 25th-largest donor nationwide in 2003 because of his gift.

By giving the antiquities to CSUN, he hopes the items will become a focus for not only CSUN faculty and students, but researchers from around the world, including China.

The exhibit, "Possessing the Past: Mysteries of Ancient Chinese Art" will open today to the public, and will continue through Aug. 27 in the university's Oviatt Library.

CSUN President Jolene Koester said the collection will appeal to students and faculty members from a multitude of disciplines at the university -- archaeology, art, anthropology, Asian studies, geology, history and material sciences.

Preceding the tour of the exhibit was a dedication ceremony, to rename one of the colleges the Roland Tseng College of Extended Learning, and the west wing of the Oviatt Library, where the collection will be on display, the Tseng Family Wing.

The gallery created to house the collection is the C.K. and Teresa Tseng Gallery, named for Tseng's parents.

The exhibit includes items from the Neolithic Era, nearly 6,000 years ago, to the late Han Dynasty, 221 A.D. In addition to ancient jade and bronze, the collection features porcelain, earthenware, pottery and glass.

One of the highlights of the exhibit is a 3,000-year-old ornate gold and bronze ritual vessel considered to be unique. Tseng said today's technology cannot replicate this piece, which combines arsenic bronze, gold and archaic jade in a single casting.

The collection also includes a bronze bull with inlaid gold and silver made between the 11th and 6th centuries B.C., a glass water buffalo from between 400 and 221 A.D. and a Stone Age ax blade.

IF YOU GO

"Possessing the Past: Mysteries of Ancient Chinese Art" is on exhibit at the California State University, Northridge, Oviatt Library through Aug. 28. For more information, call (818) 677-2285.